Mumbai-based fraudsters siphoned off Rs 1.43 crore from the account of Burdwan Municipality, in two phases. The matter has come to light after a new cheque, worth Rs 97 lakh, was presented at a nationalised bank for withdrawal.

What is intriguing is that the cheque book of the municipality is intact with the civic body.

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Senior bank officials suspect the cash withdrawals were made using some cloned cheque pages as the original pages were still lying in Burdwan Municipality’s custody.

Police have started an investigation after the municipality lodged an FIR against this pilferage through cheques. Sudipta Ghosh, branch manager of the bank said, “The cheques were debited from Mumbai. We suspect the fraudsters had deposited cloned cheques for the purpose of looting.” The manager suspected fraud after a third cheque, worth Rs 97.52 lakh, was presented at the bank to be credited in favour of one Mumbai jewellery house. He called up the civic body’s finance officer. Ghosh said, “They were speaking in Hindi, which intensified my suspicion.”

The executive officer and the finance officer of the civic body are empowered as the signatory authorities. “They didn’t sign any such cheque and we never issued any cheque to the Mumbai jeweller or any agro farm. Moreover, the cheques, bearing the same corresponding numbers, are still in possession of the municipality. It is surprising that cash was still withdrawn,” said Paresh Chandra Sarkar, chairman of the municipality.

He added, “The fraudsters had further deposited the Rs 97.52-lakh cheque bearing counterfeit signatures, which ambiguously was issued in favour of the same Mumbai jeweler. The payment process was stopped by the bank after they informed us.” The Municipality has lodged an FIR with the Burdwan PS. The SP, East Burdwan, Amandeep Singh said: “We’ve begun a probe though no significant breakthrough could be achieved as yet.”

At the City Centre branch of the same nationalised bank, Rs 1.5 lakh of a customer Swagata Tiwari Mukherjee, was robbed using counterfeit signatures on a check that surprisingly was in possession of the branch itself. The cyber police have begun a probe, but none has been arrested yet. The bank, yesterday had reimbursed the robbed amount in Swagata’s favour from its suspense account.